Heading into the second half of the football season the Roadrunners find themselves with a 2-3 record and ranked 24th in the Division V power point rankings released on Monday. After playing at home for three consecutive weeks, Holbrook will hit the road with a short trip east on Interstate 40 to face Valley Sanders. The Pirates are 3-2 on the season and ranked just below Holbrook in the 29th position. Their three wins are against Rough Rock, Hopi and Many Farms, while their two losses have come against Red Mesa and Window Rock. The Scouts beat them 33-6 and defeated Holbrook in a similar fashion.
The Roadrunners are banged up, as many teams are this time of year, but still should prevail against a Pirate team that is not known for football dominance. Last year Holbrook won this game 48-6 and should come home with a season record balanced at 3-3, although the score may be closer than some might expect. If the Birds are entertaining any post-season thoughts they need to win at least three and maybe four of their remaining five games. Tonight (Oct. 3) will be the first step in that direction.
Joseph City is ranked 18th in Division VI and will travel to Fredonia on Saturday, Oct. 4, to face the 22nd ranked Lynx. This trip is a very long bus ride and losing makes the trip home that much longer. Last season the Wildcats won this matchup 46-20 and they have dominated Fredonia in recent years. With each team coming in with only one win, this game could be close. The Wildcats need to win to keep their playoff chances in the picture, but the Lynx are in the same position and could be tough at home.
Winslow plays at Window Rock in what may be the closest game of the four area schools. If the Bulldogs watched film of the Holbrook game with the Scouts they know they had better key on Tony Walker, who might be the best offensive player in northern Arizona. Walker has big play ability every time he touches the ball. With an adequate quarterback the Scouts have proven to be a tough out. Winslow is ranked in the 12th position with a 2-3 record after dropping three straight. Window Rock comes in with a 4-1 mark and is ranked 16th. Both teams want to stay in the playoff hunt. This is only Window Rock’s second home game of the season and Scout fans will be there in full support of what would be an upset win over the Bulldogs. Last season Winslow rolled to a 59-0 win. This game should be much closer than that.
Snowflake finds itself ranked fourth in Division IV with a 4-1 record. The Lobos’ only loss came to top ranked and unbeaten Seton Catholic. After many, many years of frustrations, tonight is get even night for Lobo fans when they host Blue Ridge. The Yellowjackets have simply owned Snowflake in recent memory, with only two of the past seven matchups being close games. One of those three-point losses came last year with the Jackets prevailing 38-35. Blue Ridge comes in on a two-game win streak after opening the season on a three-game skid. Those two wins have come against Alchesay and Chinle, certainly nothing to write home about. Tonight will not be win number three. Snowflake should dominate this game, as this is a totally different Blue Ridge team than mountain fans have been used to. Combine that with the Lobos being very good makes this game headed for a running clock early in the second half.
